Air conditioner



Oct. 26, 1937. R. H. IWANDQIELLV AIR CONDITIONER Filed Oct. 13,1936 -2Sheets-Sheet l R v H m M m n o v 0a W IO A 2 1o IF 9 7 8 V M .M W W 4 43 .l .0 n 6 a W E mm H w IHII m t. E a? 7M 2 v 3 a P j v M, 3 J 0 w a a5 u a w 47k k Oct. 26, 1937. R. H. WANDELL AIR CONDITIONER Filed Oct. 5,1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I. mall/riff! INVENTOR 92 bag /2 Z0046. v

|.l.l|||ll lllllllllllllllll ltllilllrll ul lvwlli liillllllllllelallvlATTORN EY Patented Oct. 26, 1937 UNITED STATES AIR CONDITIONER ReinholdH. Wandell, KansasCity, Mo., assig'nor of one-fifth to Miller, Gumbiner,Sheffrey & Van Valkenburgh, Kansas City, Mo., a copartnershipAppIicationOctober 5, 1936, Serial No. 104,023

6 Claims. (01. 261-103) This invention relates to air conditioners,particularly to those for supplying conditioned air in rooms for thecomfort of the occupants. The principal objects of the invention are toprovide for cooling, cleansing and controlling humidity of the airincidental to turbulent movement of the air in small streams directlyincontact with wetted evaporating elements; to provide an improvedarrangement of the evaporating elements for maintaining maximum cpntactof the air with the wetting medium; and to provide for thoroughdistribution of the wetting medium over the evaporating elements.

Other important objects of the invention are 10 to provide a structurewherein the evaporating medium is kept within the confines of theevaporating elements; to provide a support for the evaporating elementsthat eliminates fluttering and noises incidental to movement of the airstreams; and to provide directional control of the air delivered fromthe conditioner.

In accomplishing these and other objects of the invention, ashereinafter pointed out, I have provided improved details of structure,the preferred form of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings,wherein. I

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an air conditioner constructed inaccordance with the present invention, a part of the casing and aircontrol louvers being broken away to better illustrate a portion of theevaporating elements.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through the air conditioner on the line22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical centml section through the conditioner.

Fig. 4 is a detail elevation of the air impeller, the pump for movingthe wetting medium and the prime mover for actuating them.

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of a portion of one of theevaporating element supporting frames, parts of the evaporating elementsbeing broken away to better illustrate the construction.

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. '7 is an enlarged vertical section through the evaporating elementsillustrating the turbulent effect of the air streams moved therebetweenunder the influence of the impeller.

Referring more in detail to the drawings:

l designates an air conditioner constructed in accordance with thepresent invention which includes a casing 2 having interconnected sidewalls- 3+4, front and rear walls 5-6, a top 1 and a bottom 8 to form achamber 9 for containing the operating mechanism of the conditioner, aslater described.

The front wall 5 has a substantially rectangular air outlet opening I!)covered by a plurality of spaced louvers H. The louvers ll comprise fiatstrips I2 having ears l3 at the respective ends which are pivotallymounted on trunnions l4 carried by the side edges l5 and I6 of theopening, the louvers being mounted on the trunnions so as to providesuificient frictional'resistance to retain them in adjusted position soas to selectively control the direction of the air streams dischargedfrom the casing.

The rear wall 6 has an air inlet opening l'l of smaller area than theeffective area between the louvers ll. Mounted within the opening I! isan air impeller l8 for drawing air into the casing and effecting itsdischarge through an air conditioning unit l9 andthe outlet opening. Theimpeller I 8 is supported concentrically of the opening by means of aspider 20 having arms 2| extending radially from a hub 22 andterminating in foot or attaching portions 23 whereby the spider issecured to the inner face of the wall 6 by means of fastening devices24,. ,The impeller has a shaft 25 rotatably mounted within a bore of thehub and has a projectingend 26 mounting a grooved pulley 21. Supportedby the wall .6 is a prime mover such as an electric motor 28 having itsarmature shaft 29 provided with a pulley 30. Operating over, the pulley30 and over the pulley 21 is a drive belt-3| also operating over apulley 32 of a pump 33,'later described. Y I I Extending across thechamber 9. at. a point. spaced above the bottom. 8, is a frame34forsupporting the air conditioning unit I9 incovering relation with theoutletopening. The unit l9 includes an outerframe 36 including sidechannels 31 and 38 connected by, upper and lower channels 39 and 40, thechannelsbeing offsu flicient length so that the sidechan'nels are.supported against the inner. face of the side ;walls and the upper andlower channels. againstthe inner face of the top 1 andtheupperfac'eflofthe frame 34 respectively, as best illustrated injjFi'gs.2 and3. m

Carried in the supporting frame ,361are juxtaposed frames M, 42, 43,.and44,. each includi'ng vertical side rails 45 and, connected'.'at theirends by horizontal rails 41 andl48. "Ihejside and head rails eachinclude web'portionsfds c'lo'seli engaging the inner faces ofthesupporting frame 36 wing n lateral agma-$1. m

lower members 48 also have inwardly extending flanges 54 and 55 similarto the flanges 50 and 5| but the inwardly extending facing flanges 56and 51 extend upwardly at slight angles, as best illustrated in Fig. 3,to cooperate with the corresponding flanges on the adjacent frames toform troughs 58, 59, and 60.

The frames 4|, 42, 43, and 44 are placed in face to face contact withinthe outer supporting frame 36 and are retained in position by theinwardly extending side flanges 6| and 62 of the channels. Mountedwithineach of the inner frames are a plurality of vertically spacedevaporating elements 63 preferably formed of an adsorbent material forcontaining the wetting medium. While various materials may be used forthe evaporating elements I find that strips of terry cloth arepreferable in order to provide maximum retention of the wetting medium.The terry cloth is formed in strips of slightly greater width than thedepth of the frames 4|, 42, 43, and 44 respectively, and of a length-toextend completely across the space between the side rails thereof, theends of the strips being doubled back and secured by lines of stitching64 to form loops 65 through which the cross bars 66 of attachingbrackets 68 are extended.

The brackets 68 are preferably formed of wire and have their ends 69 and10 bent retractively in parallel spaced relation with the cross barportion to engage the inturned flanges 52 and 53 of the side members.The terminal ends of the brackets terminatein hook-like portions II and12 that are welded or otherwise secured to the edges of the facingflanges 52 and 53, as best shown in Fig. 6.

The brackets are arranged so that the strips of terry cloth aresupported at an inclined anglerelatively to the direction of movement ofthe air through the casing, as best shown in Figs. 3 and 7, with thestrips in the frames 4| and 43 in staggered relation and at a reverseangle with the adjacent strips in the frames 42 and 44. The lower edges13 and 14 of the strips in the frames 4| and 43 overlie the adjacentlower edges 15 and 16 of the strips supported within the frames 42 and44 to provide vertical ways I1 and 18 for the wetting medium so thatwhen the wetting medium is delivered to the uppermost strips in theframes 4| and 43 it will flow downwardly onto the next lower strips inthe frames 42 and 44 for distribution to the next lowermost strips inthe frames 4| and 43, and so on to all of the evaporating elements untilthe surplus liquid is flnally collected in the troughs 58, 59 and 60 orfor drainage through openings 19 provided in the lower members fordischarge into a collection pan 80. The wetting medium upon beingdischarged on the strips of terry cloth is carried by capillary actionto the op posite edges thereof so as to maintain the terry cloth incompletely saturated condition.

Owing to the fact thatthe strips of terry cloth are stretched betweenthe side rails of the frame, and because of the weigh t of the wettingmedium saturating the cloth, I find it desirable to provide the frameswith cross braces 8| to prevent bowing in the side rails to which thestrips are attached. The staggered and alternately inclined relation ofthe respective strips of terry cloth provides tortuous passageways forstreams of air that are passed therebetween by the impelling influenceof the impeller so that suflicient pressure is built up in the chamber 9ahead of the conditioning unit to effect discharge of the respective airstreams at the desired velocity. In order. to prevent fluttering andsagging of the strips I interconnect them with stabilizing strands orties 82 that extend in zigzag relation through the edges of the stripsas best shown in Fig. 8, the ends of the strands being secured to theupper and lower rails of the frames. v

The wetting medium, such as water, is contained within the pan that ismounted in the compartment 9 below the frame 34 to which access is hadthrough a door opening 83 provided in the lower portion of the rear wall6, the opening being normally closed by a door 84 having its lower edgehinged, as at 85, to the bottom 8 and its upper edge secured by asuitable latchv 86 to the upper edge of the door opening, as best shownin Fig. 3. The wetting medium is withdrawn from the pan through a pipe81 connected to the inlet 88 of the pump 33. The discharge 90 of thepump ranged pipe 92 extending in the plane between the inner frames 42and 43 at a point above the evaporating elements. The horizontal portionof the pipe is provided with spaced rows of outlet openings 93 and 94wherethrough the wetting medium is discharged under pump pressure ontothe upper evaporatingelements as best shown in Fig. 3.

In using an air conditioner constructed and assembled as described it isso located that the inlet opening I! is in communication with a freshair supply, for example an open window in the room being cooled. The panis then filled with water that may contain a small amount of antisepticto prevent any bacterial growth upon the evaporating elements. The motoris then started to draw air from the window through the opening I! underthe impelling influence of the impeller for discharge into the pressurechamber 9. Due to the arrangement of the evaporating elements a slightpressure is built up in the chamber suflicient to cause directional flowof air between the respective evaporating elements as shown by thearrows in Fig. '7.

Simultaneously with movement ofthe air, the wetting medium contained inthe pan 80 is withdrawn by the pump and discharged through the outletsinto the uppermost evaporating elements so that the wetting medium flowstheredown and drips from overlapping edges of the evaporating elementsto distribute the water uniformly to the evaporating elements carried bythe frames 4|, 42, 43, and 44 respectively, the water being adsorbed bythe respective elements so that the elements are kept in thoroughlysaturated condition. The air stream upon passing between the evaporatingelements of the innermost frame is split by the intermediately arrangedevaporating elements of the next succeeding frame so that the dividedstreams pass along the upper and lower faces thereof, as shown by thearrows in Fig. 7. By thus splitting or dividing the streams of air I amenabled to cause a rotary turbulence of the air streams to assurepositive contact thereof with the wetting surfaces of the evaporatingelements.

The divided streams upon passing between the evaporating elements in theframe 42 are again divided by the intermediately arranged evaporatingelements carried in the frame 43, and again incidental to the staggeredrelation of the evaporating elements carried by the outermost frame 44from where the air streams are discharged between the louvers into theroom. It is thus obvious that the conditioned air is divided into aplurality of streams which are in turn progressively divided uponpassage across the perspective is connected by a pipe 9| with ahorizontally arframes so as to effect maximum contact with the wettingmedium and thereby efiect cooling of the air streams. Owing to thebreaking up and turbulence of the air I am enabled to effect maximumcooling action of the air and control of the humidity.

From the foregoing it is obvious that I have provided an air conditionerwhich is of simple and inexpensive construction and which thoroughlytreats the air passed therethrough. The tortuous arrangement of theevaporating elements provides sufficient retard for the air streams thatthe air has time to be thoroughly cooled incidental to the evaporatingeffect of the wetting liquid. The chilled air upon being discharged.between the baffles is directed to the respective parts of the room ascontrolled by adjustment of the louvers. The surplus air is dischargedfrom the room through suitable ventilating openings as in customarypractice.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an apparatus of the character described, a housing having airinlet and outlet openings, a plurality of juxtaposed pairs of air andliquid contact units located in the housing intermediate the inlet andoutlet openings, each pair comprising a series of superimposed liquidadsorbing strips, means supporting the strips in spaced horizontalsuspension across the housing with the strips in one unit of a pairarranged in staggered and oppositely inclined relation with the stripsin the other unit of the pair and with adjacent edges of the strips inslightly overlapping relation to form a tortuous passageway between theunits of the pairs, means for delivering a liquid for gravitationthrough the passageways of the respective units of the pairs to maintainboth the upper and lower surfaces of said strips in thoroughly wettedcondition, said strips in the units of adjacent pairs being arranged instaggered relation to cooperate with the. stag gered relation of theunits in the respective pairs for providing a plurality of tortuous airpassageways extending transversely of said liquid passageways, and meansfor effecting movement of air from the inlet to the outlet opening andthrough said tortuous air passageways whereby the air steams passingbetween the upper and lower surfaces of adjacent strips in the firstunit are divided by the intermediate strips of the next unit to bringthe portions of the air streams moving in contact with the upper andlower surfaces in the first unit into alternate contact with theopposite surfaces of the succeeding units in the direction of the outletopening to obtain maximum turbulence and contact of the air with saidwetted surfaces.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, a housing having airinlet and outlet openings, a plurality of juxtaposed pairs of air andliquid contact units located in the housing intermediate the inlet andoutlet openings, each pair comprising a series of superimposed liquidadsorbing strips, means supporting the strips in spaced horizontalsuspension across the housing with the strips in one unit of a pairarranged in staggered and oppositely inclined relation with the stripsin the otherunit of the pair and with adjacent edges of the strips inslightly overlapping relation to form a tortuous passageway between theunits of the pairs, means for delivering a liquid for gravitationthrough the passageways of the respective units of the pairs to maintainboth the upper and lower surfaces of said strips in thoroughly wettedcondition, said strips in the units of adjacent pairs being arranged instaggered relation to cooperate with the staggered relation of the unitsin the respective pairs for providing a plurality of tortuous airpassageways extending transversely of said liquid passageways, means foreffecting movement of air from the inlet to the outlet opening andthrough said tortuous air pasageways whereby the air streams passingbetween the upper and lower surfaces of adjacent strips in the firstunit are divided by the intermediate strips of the next unit to bringthe portions of the air streams moving in contact with the upper andlower surfaces in the first unit into alternate contact with theopposite surfaces of the succeeding units in the direction of the outletopening to obtain maximum turbulence and contact of the air with saidwetted surfaces, means in the'housing for collecting the liquid at thebottom of the units, and means for returning the collected liquid to thedelivering means for recirculation through said passageways.

3. In an apparatus of the character described, a housing having airinlet and outlet openings, a plurality of juxtaposed pairs of air andliquid contact units located in the housing intermediate the inlet andoutlet openings, each pair comprising a series of superimposed liquidadsorbing strips, means supporting the strips in spaced horizontalsuspension across the width of the housing with the strips in one unitof a' pair arranged in staggered relation with the strips in the otherunit of the pair to form a series of troughs with adjacent edges of thestrips in slightly overlapping relation to form a tortuous passagewaybetween the pair of units, means for delivering a liquid for gravitationthrough the tortuous passageways of the respective pairs of units tomaintain both the upper and lower surfaces of said strips in thoroughlywetted condiportions of the air streams moving in contact with thesurfaces in the first unit into alternate contact with the surfaces ofthe succeeding units in the direction of the outlet opening to obtainmaximum turbulence and contact of the air with said wetted surfaces.

4. In an apparatus of the character described, a housing having airinlet and outlet openings,

a plurality of juxtaposed pairs of air and liquid contact units locatedin the housing intermediate the inlet and outlet openings, each paircomprising a series of superimposed liquid adsorbing strips, meanssupporting the strips in spaced horizontal suspension across the widthof the housing with the strips in one unit of a pair arranged tain boththe upper and lower surfaces of said strips in thoroughly wettedcondition, said strips in the units of adjacent pairs being arranged instaggered relation to cooperate with the staggered relation of the unitsin the respective pairs for providing a plurality of tortuous airpassageways extending transversely of said liquid fiassageways, meansfor effecting movement of air from the inlet to the outlet through saidtortuous air passageways in separate streams whereby the air streamspassing between the upper and lower surfaces of adjacent strips in thefirst unit are divided by the intermediate strip of the next unit tobring the portions of the air streams-moving in contact with thesurfaces in the first unit into alternate contact with the surfaces ofthe succeeding units in the direction of the outlet opening to obtainmaximum turbulence and contact of the air with said wetted surfaces,means in the V housing'for collecting the liquid at the bottom of theunits, and means for returning the collected liquid to the deliveringmeans for recirculation through said passageways.

5. In an apparatus of the character described, a housing having airinlet and outlet openings, a plurality of juxtaposed pairs of air andliquid contact units located in the housing intermediate the inlet andoutlet openings, each pair comprising a series of superimposed liquidadsorbing strips of terry cloth, means supporting the strips in spacedhorizontal suspension across the housing with the strips in one unit ofa pair arranged in staggered and oppositely inclined relation with geredrelation of the units in the respective pairs for providing a pluralityof'tortuous air passageways extending transversely of said liquidpassageways, and means for effecting movement of air from the inlet tothe outlet opening and through said tortuous air passageways whereby theair streams passing between the upper and .lower surfaces of adjacentstrips in the first unit are divided by the intermediate strips of thenext unit to bring the portions of the air streams moving in contactwith the upper and lower surfaces in the first unit into alternatecontact with the opposite surfaces of the succeeding units in the'direction of the outlet opening to obtain maximum turbulence and contactof the air with said wetted surfaces.

6. In an apparatus of the character described, a housing having airinlet and outlet openings,

a plurality of juxtaposed pairs of air and liquid contact units locatedin the housing intermediate the inlet and outlet openings, each paircomprising a series of superimposed liquid adsorbing strips of terrycloth, means supporting the strips in spaced horizontal suspensionacross the width of the housing with the strips in one unit of a pairarranged in staggered relation with the strips in the other unit ofthepair to form a series being arranged in staggered relation to cooperatewith the staggered relation of the units in the 'respective pairs forproviding a plurality of tor-- tuous air passageways extendingtransversely of said liquid passageways, and means for effectingmovement of air from the inlet to the outlet through said tortuous airpassageways in separate streams whereby the air streams passing betweenthe upper and lower surfaces of adjacent strips in the first unit aredivided by the intermediate strip of the next unit to bring the portionsof the air streams moving in contact with the surfaces in the first unitinto alternate contact with the surfaces of the succeeding units in thedirection of the outlet opening to obtain maximum turbulence and contactof the air'with said wetted surfaces.

REINHOLD H. WANDE'LL.

